DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Cavs and NBA Discussion Continued

well now chicago knows how we felt after game 3. I am really concerned about Kyrie though..we absolutely need him to be 100%. Put JR back on the starting 5, move Shump back to bench so he can spell Kyrie and blow the game open at home in game 5...thats what's going to have to happen..this back and forth close games is not good, I mean its fun playoff bball, but I rather we be blowing everyone out.

Im not sure about you guys, but I think Silvers Job 1 in the offseason is to clean house on the officiating crews..they are really bad. They have been consistent atleast, at being horrible

Ditto

and I despise this announcing crew

For once, I agree with everything you just said there. I think Shump is fine. He's a good defender, but if his shot isn't falling on offense, he becomes a liability.

Do the Networks ever listen to their Announcing crews ?

phew wow

This must be a Cleveland thing. Breen and Van Gundy are very good. Jackson is atrocious.

I caught the last two games ; and they are just soooooooooo bad ..

What cracked me up was the constant bitching they did about the "extra" time out, but never mentioned Lebron got a prison beating by Noah on the shot anyway and should have bee shooting 2 FTs. As Rashaad Wallace would say.......ball don't lie!!

Mark Jackson said exactly that. He said that Noah fouled him.

Yes briefly before Van Gundy and him went on another rant about the extra TO. The controversy should have never been about us getting to converse why the fixed the clock, but rather Lebron having to hit a miracle shot because the refs blew a really obvious mugging.

I don't complain about announcers much, because they really mean very little to the game. However, the crew Friday and today were like watching a Chicago home crew on a national TV broadcast......pretty sad.

Don't have a problem with Breen. It's just Van Gundy is constantly bitching about something, and also seems to openly root against the Cavs. LeBron makes an amazing game winner and all he can talk about is the free "timeout". I can't imagine the whining he'd do if that ball had gone off Lebron, and the refs refused to review it because they didn't want to give the Cavs a freebee.

As an unbiased observer, I find them to be pretty good.

Also, how about the refs missing Blatt calling a TO when he didn't have any left. Should have been a technical on Blatt and a free throw for the Bulls.

j/c:

You guys might want to consider not posting during the game. Your comments look very foolish now. No offense, it just a

A few observations:

--I predicted we would a close, hard-fought battle. But man, throughout much of the game, I didn't see us winning it.

--These are two poor offensive teams at this point in time. Losing Love and having Kyrie injured is killing the Cavs and Chicago is so inconsistent offensively. These offenses are painful to watch at times.

--I hate that we are going w/LeBron monopolizing the ball at the top and not running Blatt's offense.

--JR Smith's threes saved us.

--I understand that TT might have been a whupping boy for this board for a long time, but that cat can play. He is valuable for us and he will get the max contract.

--Mozgov played w/emotion and passion.

--James Jones sucks on defense and his hesitation on the inbounds plays at the end of the game were killing me. Pull the trigger. You had guys open.

--I hate when LeBron gets sloppy w/the ball and then doesn't run back on defense.

--Excel was right. Kyrie is really, really hurting. It's a damn shame.

--I really like Blatt as a coach. I wish LeBron---and company---would listen to him more. He knows what he is doing.

--This series looks like it is going to continue to be a knock-down, drag-out, slug-fest. Both teams will fight you. Chicago is a bit tougher physically. We have a bit more athleticism. Both teams are lacking offensively for different reasons at this point in time. Both would falter against teams like Golden State, Houston, or the Clippers. Oddly, the Cavs could hang better w/Memphis, and they have a legit shot of beating Golden State.

The Officiating was a little one sided in the last minute, I thought Lebron was fouled a couple times that was ignored by the refs but he showed everyone why he is the greatest player on the planet with that last dagger ...

You might not of been talking to me directly, but I'd stand behind most of what I said during the game. Lebron seemed to be killing us for the most part. Until the buzzer-beater, I don't think he hit a shot outside of 15 feet except for one early in the first. He had 8 turnovers, and I think we went up by 5 or 6 when he was deferring to JR Smith and others late in the 4th. When he went back to running the entire offense again, the Bulls tied it up.

Then of course, he drills a buzzer beater, reminding us of what a great player he can be.

I'd have a LOT more faith in us pulling out this series if I knew Kyrie could come back healthy. We've got one superstar out and one completely hobbled. Then guys like Shump and JRS are picking up injuries as well. As much as some people are complaining about the bench, I thought most of the "role" players got the job done tonight, outside of James Jones and Shump's terrible three point shooting, most of the other guys contributed something ... and it's Kyrie's gimpiness and Lebron's terrible ball-handling/30% shooting that's really our undoing at this point.

Also, God forbid someone makes an emotional comment while watching their team play.

That last second shot was just nasty... great win. Wish we could have hit a few of the earlier shots and made it not so close, but damn, LBJ iced it!

Tied series gentlemen...

I was just messing w/you guys--as in ...plural. I thought I made that evident.

God forbid [cfrs] that we tease someone good-naturedly.

I agree w/what you are saying in this post, Excel. Again, I was just playing around.

James didn't have his best game today obviously, but it's great to have an athlete in Cleveland that can do the stuff he does when it's all on the line in big games. That shot saved the series. We take it in 7.

How you box out by J. Noah



Here's the video of the last shot


Vine of last shot

Blatt on trying to call TO with none left: "I almost blew it. ... Good thing they caught it, my guys." Ty Lue pulled him back, prevented TO

so Lebron overruled Blatt on the last play.

I can't say that I'd blame him (or it's that uncommon) ... but what in the HELL is Blatt thinking electing to have Lebron take it out?!

Some may say that you want your best decision maker to take it out ... but even if you turn it over there's only 1.5 seconds left so it wouldn't matter

Oh I totally own up to emotional posting when it comes to my cavs...I love the Browns and am crazy about them too, but bball was the sport I was best at in HS (late bloomer) and played it in college, so I've been a cavs season ticket holder from 91 until lebron left. I try to mix in good with bad. Some seasons thats easier than others..lol


Just some thoughts on the game. Regardless of the last second shot, lebron outside of game 2 has been garbage...he's a horrible ball handler and his shot selection is horrible. He's a turnover waiting to happen. On the flip side, he can take any player in the nba to the hole on pure physicality alone...noone has been able to do that and you'd be pressed to find one in the future. If lebron cleans up the inconsistency, this series is already over and we're not talking about all the injuries and trying to beat Bulls in 7. The best lebron is the aggressive driving the lane lebron, not the aggressive jump shooting lebron.

Kyrie worries me..I really hope this is something he can take it easy and play through and it still heal.. Kyrie has to be at a good level to even do anything in the playoffs. I hope he's ok.

JR needs to start, go back to what worked, No reason to start shumpert and let him jack up threes.. he had a couple good games..big deal. Let him come off the bench and provide defense, ball handling and some offense..we need JR out there with the starters to space the floor.

Mosgov is a weird guy for me...I really like rooting for him because he seems like a good dude that busts his ass constantly. Plays with alot of emotion. That being said, he really needs to be coached up in the offseason, his hands have to get stronger, too many passes bounce off, and rebounds get taken away or missed dunks...he cleans that up he'll be a 15/10 guy easy I think, and having a guy like Andy backing him up and we're alot better team.

TT, oh Thompson, how you frustrate me so..dude is pure energy, crazy leaping ability, decent feet, but gets lost on the defensive end easily..hustles like crazy to get offensive boards...he's basically Andy without a jumper and offense. I think with Andy/Love back, TT would be perfect coming off the bench, especially when we go small. Though saying he's going to get the Max...thats not happening..if it does, it won't be here and good luch to the team wrapping up that kind of money to a role player..wouldn't be the first time. I'd like to see Thompson back, I just think he's going to want a ton of $$, he already turned down 14mil a year. Hopefully taste of winning might bring down the price so he can stay.

Our bench, we need that addressed in offseason. We don't need superstars, just need consistent contributors. Preferably young and hungry guys, I don't really want over the hill ring chasers, it doesnt help. Jones/miller/marion/haywood/perkins...thats 5 positions you aren't getting any help, you basically have a 7 man rotation, and delly doesn't really give you that much, and shump isn't going to get you alot of points..so where do they come from.


I think we win at home game 5, we'll close bulls out on their floor, we lose, i think they close us out.. I think this series is over in 6 either way.

J/C .....

Thank goodness we had Mozgov tonight. When the rest of the team was clanking shots, he was busy hitting 4-5 shots, and 7-8 from the FT line. (and also playing exceptional defense in the paint)


CBS Link

The big reason the Cavs were even in position to win that game (which they almost blew) was the incredible play of Timofey Mozgov. He was probably the most effective player on the floor for Cleveland throughout Game 4, finishing with 15 points (4-of-5 from the field and 7-of-8 on free throws), nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks. His play inside really kept the Bulls from dominating the paint (just 32 points), and Mozgov seemed to bail out the Cavs time and again. Congratulate James on the big shot, but give the game ball to Mozgov for being their consistency.

I just watched the game on my DVR (I was at a Mother's Day late lunch).

I don't think the Cavs have the edge, yet. The Bulls could/should have been up 3-1 and they know they can beat the Cavs in Cleveland. The Cavs could/should be up 3-1 themselves and they know they can win in Chicago.

If Lebron and Kyrie can get out of their offensive funk, the series could be over in two games. And the games would be easy Cavs wins too. Man, I'd like to see them both drop 30+ the next game.

The Noah foul that wasn't called was karma for Blatt's no-call on the timeout. And after seeing the Lebron offensive foul on the possession before, I agree it was the right call, but man that was an odd time for the refs to call it. I want to know why Kyrie wasn't rolling to Lebron to get the ball and so he could hit the free throws. It seemed like the play was, "get the ball to Lebron and let them foul him". Had a better play been setup, we could have killed more of the clock and been sure we were going to the line.

As for the game-winner, DAMN. That'll go in the Lebron HOF archive right away. I'm sure Thibs will be wondering all night why he wasn't doubling Lebron. Come on, why was TT being guarded at the top of the key?

And I agree that it's not fair that the Cavs got extra time to setup the play, but two things. One, I swear Lebron was standing in the same spot before the review (probably ready to run the same inbound play). And the Bulls also had extra time to setup their own defense too. I was annoyed hearing SVG complaining that it was ONLY an advantage to the Cavs. The Bulls had the same time to prepare.

Oh well. Best 2 out of 3 from here out. If I had a free $500 to bet on the series winner, I might just flip a coin. I have no idea what will happen from here on out.

We are all witnesses

(y)

You've gotta wonder what the Bulls are thinking right now. They're gonna start doubting if they can ever beat Lebron.

They played a pretty close game without their best big man. My guess is that they aren't lacking confidence. I'm just hoping that they get some good rest. The last few games have been ugly basketball.

That kind of thing happens all the time in games. The refs check the time quite a bit when they're allowed to late in games.

That was a really gutsy performance. You had guys out, guys hobbling around, and your best player played a pretty bad game. Still found a way to win. The shot was great, but the way they took control of the game in the final minutes was cool. Everyone is destroying Blatt for calling a last second play that involved Lebron inbounding the pass, (because no other star player in NBA history has scratched a play from his coach) but realistically I was hoping Swish would get a shot. He had the hot hand. There's no doubt in my mind he has the stones to make a shot like that.

Great flop by Dunleavy on that offensive foul too. Lebron got him on the shoulder, and he grabs his face. What a dope. And yes, Noah, keep pounding your chest as if you've made ANY difference in this series.

The Q should be rocking on Tuesday, and the team could really use it. Kyrie looks really banged up. You can tell he's getting almost no lift on his shots. His burst is not there right now. He's showing a ton of heart, but right now he's not offering anything more than heart. Hopefully a day off will help.

The Cavs are not playing their best basketball right now either. There is so much to clean up. They turned the ball over 4 straight times in the second, and then went without scoring for an eternity in the third.

Loved Mozgov's game, but he's gotta start finishing these easier buckets that he's being handed. He drew a bunch of fouls today, and knocked down his freebies, but there were a few opportunities for and 1's that he didn't take advantage of.

Has there been a worse officiated post-season than this year's? It seems like there have been a ton of blown calls all over the place.

I have to wonder how we get to the Finals this year. We may not have anyone left by the time this series is through. We already lost Love. Shumpert strained his groin. Kyrie hurt his foot. Lebron came down badly on his left ankle in this game.

Ugh. We could use a week off to get healthy. I almost think that Blatt should have sat Kyrie today to let him heal. However, doing so might have sent a message that we were giving this game away, which is not the message a coach wants to send. It might have been better in the long run though.

Hopefully we can wrap this series up in 6, while the Hawks drag their series out to 7. That would give us a couple of extra days to rest and heal.

Really, Mr Doom and Gloom?? Leave it to you after a gutsy playoff win, to bitch because we did not blow a good team out.

LOL.

I thought I hated that guy before this season ... watching these playoffs makes me dislike him even more.

Go, Cavs! This is exciting stuff.

Refs are wretched. Love should thank them for his injury.

I agree the refs are bad, unreal bad. Just this side of pro wrestling and about as respected. Sorry excuse for officiating IMO.

This is the national media narrative today.

Did any of them even watch the game? Lebron was wretched up until that last shot. He was the biggest reason it was a tie game at that point instead of being up by 10. If anything, Blatt was giving him an "out" so he didn't feel like he HAD to make the last shot, even if he wasn't feeling it. I think it was more of a CHALLENGE to his best player. He wanted him to step in and say, "No coach, I'll make this shot". THAT is the mindset you want your best player to be in. Not, "Well, I know I've been terrible all game, but I guess I'll try and make this shot you want me to make ... pressure's on."

I actually think it's a bit of brilliant head coaching. If Blatt draws it up so Lebron isn't even a shooting option and Lebron says, "Eh, sure ... I'll pass it in" ... would you really want him taking the last shot anyway?

@Excel - That's an interesting twist, but we'll never know if Blatt is a moron or genius.

I'm more upset Blatt tried calling a timeout. Imagine that for a moment, losing a game on something like that.